Self-Portrait Inspiration and Technical / Creative Resources

Part 1:

What is a self-portrait?
A portrait is a representation of someone, and if it is a self-portrait it is a representation of you. This representation is most commonly in the medium of photography or painting, although any mediums could be used to create a self-portrait. The portrait does not need to be representational, but could be abstract or be a combination of different objects that you believe represents yourself.

What are the distinctive things that make me "me"?
The distinct things that make me who I am, aside from my physical appearance is the experiences I have, how I respond to these experiences and what I am interested in. Some of my chief interests are ceramics and rugby,

How do I want people to see me?
How I want people to see changes with who the person is. I want my teachers and employers to see me as responsible and hard working. My friends should view me as someone they want to hang out- being fun, independent, and adventurous. I want those on opposing rugby teams to see me as fierce, tough and fast. Although I attempt to change that I am, I hope that my personality still somewhat shows through the screens I put up, so that I can be differentiated from those around me.

How can I express my many different sides?
My many different sides are expressed constantly as I move from one situation to the next. Those who I am constantly around are able to see all of these sides, and thus gain a better understanding for who I am. In the majority of situations I try not to modify who I am, thus allowing only who I am to be revealed.

How can I reinvent myself for various purposes or times in my life?
Since people are so visual, the best way to reinvent who you are is to change your appearance. This generally happens on it own; as you change the people you constantly hang out with and see the faults in what you were doing before. As we age we gain more knowledge, which allows us to better shape who we are so that we can transform into who we want to be.

How am I changing from day to day or year to year?
I constantly change day to day depending on the people I am around. While at work or in some classes I attempt to act professional watching what I say and how I act. With my immediate family and friends I am much more free as I have known these people for a long time and no longer need to change who I am, and just act however I feel. When I meet new people I am generally reserved, and the more I am acquainted with the person the more I open up, until my personality is completely revealed. Although even personalities change on a regular basis.

Who do I want to become?
I would like to become someone who is happy with their life- where I have been, where I am and the direction I am heading. I do not want a life that is all planned out, but desire spontaneity and oddities. I hope to reach success in life, although I have yet to determine exactly how I would define success for myself.


Part 2:

I selected this picture because when I think of portraits, Richard Avedon immediately comes to mind. This specific self-portrait is similar to what we are to do in class, as he made a triptych out of his images. What I like about this triptych is that the images all relate yet show a different perspective along with a different emotion expressed by Avedon. By doing this you are able to see three different personalities of the same person. This photo inspires me to do something similar, where multiple photos of me are used to show different perspectives of my personality to give someone a more holistic view of me. These photos also seem to follow a movement, by doing this Avedon allows the different pictures to look more complete when put together- something to consider when I create my own self-portrait.

I liked this portrait of Henri Cartier-Bresson because a lot of information is given about him in this one photo. Not only are you able to see his actual face, but also the viewer is also able to see the portrait he drew of himself. Therefore we are able to see how he looks and how he physically views himself. When creating my own portrait I may want to create multiple photos that create one composition like Cartier-Bresson did in this photograph.


Part 3:
http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsites/S/selfportraituk/making_selfportrait_01.html
This website was designed for a contest in creating self-portraits. The section titled Making a Self-Portrait points out different ideas and questions to consider before designing your portrait. The size of the image/images will greatly affect how the portrait is viewed and interpreted. Also the artist should consider where the figure or portions of the figure will be located on the page. Is the background going to be part of the photo, or will it just be a solid color. What are you going to express, as posture and mood can greatly change depending on how they are expressed.